No matter who wins the presidential election, efforts to re-shape, even abolish, our democratic institutions and erode constitutional rights will persist.

In a usnews.com article this week, Todd Belt, director of the Political Management Program at George Washington University, said, “2024 will be remembered as one of the “most unique elections ever … and we don't even know the outcome yet.

“I think we will be discussing how historic this election has been for many years to come,” he says. “From the changing of nominees, to the court cases, to the closeness of it all, this has been an election season like no other.”

Wherever you fall along the political spectrum, the outcome of the presidential election will usher in dramatic changes.

Extremist political trends, partisan agendas, and disinformation campaigns (from both within and outside the United States) will continue to threaten our democratic institutions (i.e., the presidency, Congress, and federal agencies), foster “policies changes that will impact our constitutional freedoms,” and dismantle programs for vulnerable or marginalized groups.

Project 2025 or the Presidential Transition Project

According to the Presidential Transition Project website, “Project 2025 is a historic movement, brought together by over 100 respected organizations from across the conservative movement, to take down the Deep State and return the government to the people.” 

Its 922-page playbook includes:

eliminating Head Start, a program that funds education, health and social services programs for low-income children under 5 years old.
Reducing the size and scope of federal agencies, particularly those related to environmental regulation and social welfare programs
Promoting fossil fuel production and rolling back climate change initiatives.
Proposing changes that could weaken civil rights protections, including those related to LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive health.
Abolishing the teaching of critical race theory and gender ideology in public schools (Source: factchcheck.org)

Supreme Court (SCOTUS)

“The US Supreme Court has wrapped up its 2023-2024 term, issuing a string of blockbuster decisions with enormous implications for American democracy, individual and civil rights, and the basic functioning of the federal government.”

The court ruled that cities in the US west can criminalize unhoused people for sleeping outside even when they lack access to shelter.
The court put a hold on an attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce harmful air pollution that drifts across state lines.
The court struck down a 40-year precedent, reducing the power of federal agencies.
The court ruled that Trump has ‘absolute immunity’ for official acts …reducing the likelihood that the federal criminal case against Donald Trump on charges he plotted to stop the transfer of power will proceed before the 2024 election.
The court struck down a Federal ban on ‘bump stock’ devices for guns.

(Source: The Guardian. 7/1/24)

Election Disruptors

Our U.S. election process faces several challenges:

Misinformation (or false information) that can spread quickly, undermining trust in the electoral system.
Voter suppression laws and practices that make it harder for certain groups to vote and can affect election outcomes.
Disputes over election results can lead to prolonged legal battles and uncertainty.
Excessive demands for audits and recounts can strain election resources and personnel.

(Sources: newyorkdailynews.com, 10/24/24; msn.com; usnews.com, 10/31/24; aol.com, 10/22/24)

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)

This section does not encompass the entirety of the NAR’s history, beliefs, structure, or theology. However, it depicts a major component of its mission-domionism.

“Imagine a religious movement that has no formal organization, no official leaders, and no confessional statement, yet its churches are among the most influential and fastest growing in the world. Now imagine that some of this movement’s most prominent representatives—perhaps because of its unorthodox beliefs and controversial practices—deny its very existence. How do you identify such a movement? How do you warn orthodox churches of its influence among their own members or leaders? Welcome to the New Apostolic Reformation.” (modernreformation.org. 05/21/24)

According to christianity.com, “One of the more problematic teachings associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (though, again, not held formally by all those who would identify with the movement) is referred to as dominion theology ….

“This theology suggests that Christians should attempt to institute God’s kingdom by conquering the “seven mountains” of society, which include (1) politics, (2) education, (3) media, (4) business, (5) religion, (6) family, and (7) entertainment.

The (NAR’s) Seven Mountain mandate is an NAR strategy designed to take control of the power centers of the world. The Ohio Reformation Prayer Network has an abbreviated list of these seven areas on their promotional video:

• Family: where generational blessings or curses are passed on to our children

• Education: where little truth or lies about God and His creation are taught

• Government: where evil is little restrained or endorsed

• Business: where people build for the glory of God or the glory of humankind

• Media: where events, news, information are interpreted and passed on to people through the lens of good and evil

• Arts and entertainment: where values and virtues are little celebrated or distorted

• Religion: where people worship God in “spirit and truth” or settle for religious rituals

Recently, the NAR’s “Appeal to Heaven” flag, a white banner featuring a green pine tree, was on display outside the New Jersey home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and outside the personal office of Republican House Majority Leader Mike Johnson in the Cannon House Office Building. U.S. Representative Eric Burlison displayed the flag in a recent social media post.

Donald Trump and the NAR

In September, baptistnews.com, quoted Matthew Taylor, senior scholar and Protestant scholar at the Institute of Islamic, Christian, Jewish Studies, who specializes in evangelical and Pentecostal movements and religious politics in the U.S.

Taylor, author of The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening our Democracy, stated: “Today, the NAR is focused on returning Trump to office, believing this has been God’s will all along. And in that, there is a pattern ... If you think about what happened in 2020 what you had was this nebulous mass of prophecies about Donald Trump that were kind of brewing over the course of the 2020 election ….

“Once again, all these prophecies are there around Donald Trump. Those prophecies have not gone away. In fact, many of the prophets have said, ‘Well, I was told two terms. I didn’t say two consecutive terms.’ So those prophecies are still there. In fact, the assassination attempt on Trump has thrown all those prophecies into overdrive because many of the prophets are saying, ‘See, this is a sign that God’s hand and anointing is on Donald Trump.’”

Whatever the outcome next Tuesday, major issues still confront us: protecting voting rights, restoring reproductive choice, expanding health care, preserving Social Security and Medicare, protecting the rights of the LBGTQ community and other marginalized groups, reducing economic inequalities, improving cybersecurity, tackling the climate crisis, countering terrorism …and the list goes on.

A final note: “Perhaps most troubling of all, our democracy seems to be teetering on the brink of crisis—a crisis rooted in a fundamental contest between two opposing visions of what America is and what it should be; a crisis that has left the body politic divided, angry, and mistrustful, and has allowed for an ongoing breach of institutional norms, procedural safeguards, and the adherence to basic facts that both Republicans and Democrats once took for granted.”--Barack Obama, A Promised Land

Wista JohnsonNovember 1, 2024